1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to barbeque tongs which are utilized to manipulate food items being grilled on an outdoor or indoor grill using wood, charcoal, or natural gas. In particular, the present invention relates to specifically designed tongs which are utilized to manipulate shish-kebobs so as to flip the shish-kebob from one side to the other to insure uniform cooking and to safely place and remove the shish-kebob from the grill without the threat of burning ones fingers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shish-kebobs are a popular food item to be cooked on a grill, particularly outdoors, in fair weather. The shish-kebob has its origins in the Middle East and Asia. It consists of a skewer onto which bite size pieces of meat, poultry, vegetables in the form of onions, peppers and the like, and carbohydrates, such as potatoes, are positioned. The skewers with the bite sized pieces of food in place, is then placed on a grill and heated. Preferably, the shish-kebob is cooked on one side and then flipped or rotated 180 degrees about the longitudinal skewer to insure even cooking of the food pieces on the opposing side before removal from the grill.
The skewers utilized for shish-kebob may vary. Typically, they are wooden sticks with points at the end which are soaked in water for a period of time before being utilized in an effort to prevent the wooden stick from searing or catching fire on the grill. Recent developments in the shish-kebob art include metal rods having a circular ring handle at one end for ease of manipulation. To add flavor to the food, lemon grass stalks, sugar cane, and rosemary sprigs are sometimes used as the skewer.
The one problem that arises with shish-kebobs is that in the cooking process, the food items which in most situations are irregular in shape, when secured to the skewer, will oftentimes rotate about the skewer to seek their lower center of gravity when one tries to manipulate the kebob to turn the kebob from one side to the other. This prevents the food items from being cooked uniformly on both sides. Efforts have been made to address this problem. One effort is to make the cross section of the skewer square or rectangular in shape to lessen the possibility of rotation of the food items. Another solution is to use two skewers to prevent such rotation of the food items. Another is to use a two pronged skewer having a single handle. These solutions have had some success, but the problem persists and further problems exist with respect to the individual flipping the shish-kebob and removing the shish-kebob from the grill. Regardless of the type of skewer used, it becomes hot during the cooking process and sometimes difficult to grasp and remove from the grill without singeing one's fingers.
Therefore, there has been a need for a mechanism which would allow an individual to safely flip or rotate a shish-kebob on the grill to insure even cooking on both sides and a method and apparatus for removing the shish-kebob from the grill once cooking is complete without the possibility of singeing or burning one's fingers on the skewer which has become heated as a result of the cooking process.
Applicant's kabob tongs address both of these problems successfully.